Yellowstone National Park

Obama to Restrict Snowmobile Access to Yellowstone National Park

The Obama Administration is considering carrying out a Bush-era plan to restrict the number of snowmobiles that are allowed to access Yellowstone National Park each day. The giant park, which crosses state boundaries into Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, is otherwise inaccessible to visitors in winter months. Lobbyists for the snowmobile industry say that this is just the first step to an outright ban that would effectively close the park in winter months, and cave to environmental concerns raised by those who rarely visit Yellowstone. Environmentalists claim that the snowmobiles are doing damage by compacting loose snow into ice and emitting carbon monoxide.